A guy paid for Disney+ for 2 years.

Never checked his plan. Never checked his bill. Just let it renew. Roughly $480 spent over those 2 years — and he was quietly paying for two accounts, a password-sharing surcharge he didn't need, and a bundle price that had been discontinued and replaced with something cheaper months earlier.

His sister-in-law — who spent 3 years in a subscription billing support role — pulled up his account during a family dinner.

She read the billing history for a minute and looked up.

"You're paying for an 'Extra Member' add-on because someone outside your house is on your account, and you're paying almost as much for that add-on as a second full subscription would cost through the current bundle. You've been on the same plan since before Disney restructured its tiers, and the current version of that same plan is priced differently now — you were never moved, you were just left there. You're paying for Disney+ and Hulu separately when the ad-free bundle covering both is cheaper than either one alone used to be. And you've never once checked whether your account still has the discount you signed up under, because those promotional rates usually expire quietly after a set number of months."

She didn't tell him to cancel. She told him what his own billing history already showed.

The guy said "I've genuinely never once looked past the total on the statement."

His sister-in-law said "Nobody does. The bill just renews. You have to actually open the plan page to see what's changed underneath it."

Here's everything she found 🧵

Check if your promotional rate already expired

Disney+ frequently offers a discounted introductory rate at signup or during a promotion, and that rate typically reverts to full price automatically after a set number of months — with no clear notification calling out the exact moment it happens.

She said: "Go to Account, then Subscription. Compare the price you're currently being charged to what you remember signing up for. If it's higher and you don't recognize why, that's usually a promo period that quietly ended."

Check if you're paying the "Extra Member" fee unnecessarily

Disney+'s password-sharing rules let you add someone outside your household for a monthly fee, but that fee is often close to — or sometimes more than — what a second person would pay for their own basic plan through a current bundle or promotion.

She said: "If you're paying for an Extra Member, compare that monthly cost to what a separate basic subscription costs that person directly, especially if they'd qualify for a bundle. Sometimes splitting into two accounts is actually cheaper than the shared add-on."

I was recently challenged to produce examples of profs who faced significant punishment for having views (or were perceived to have views) critics associated with conservatism. The implication was that these examples don't exist.

I'll give you an incomplete list in a sec, but...

...first, I want to tell you why it is incomplete (beyond just my own lack of effort). For the skeptics, I think it will be eye-opening.

1. It's just focused on the US, but the same thing was happening in the UK and Canada too.
2. It's just from the last few years (~since 2015).

3. It's just those who've lost their jobs, either through termination or effective dismissal, e.g. not having their contract renewed despite very good reasons to suppose it otherwise would be. So we're not including suspensions, demotions, and other forms of punishment.

🧵 The Countess of Chester Hospital Trust told File on 4 "the Trust has made significant improvements" and mentioned the timeframe of between 2015-2020 to suggest the hospital care was worse in that period, when the babies in the programme were born.. 1/8

https://twitter.com/GuerrillaCarl/status/2079861453805191307

My first thought was, really?

In Feb 2016 the CQC inspection rated it "Requires Improvement".

The placenta fridge was an area of concern... 2/8

In Nov/Dec 2018 again the CQC inspected and rated it "Requires Improvement".

The quality of services had, according to the CQC, deteriorated since the 2016 inspection. 3/8

“Muslim men get 72 virgins in heaven.”

That line went viral. But there’s one problem:

The Qur’an never says that. Not once. And the real story is way more interesting.

https://twitter.com/piousdeenn/status/2051321986333519890

Here’s where the myth actually started.

The number 72 doesn’t come from the Qur’an.

It comes from one hadith about martyrs.
Just one.

And it’s listed as one reward among many.

But the internet ignored everything else.

Because one detail was… spicier.

The hadith actually lists rewards like:

→ forgiveness of sins
→ protection from punishment
→ a high rank in Paradise
→ intercession for family
→ eternal peace.

Yet somehow…

Only one reward became famous.
You can guess which one.

Most Muslims are not practicing sabr. They're suppressing.

And they don't know the difference. That difference is destroying them quietly.

Here's the honest truth.

Suppressing looks like this:

You're hurting inside.
But you say "alhamdulillah" anyway.

You're angry at Allah.
But you smile and act fine.

You never cry. Never grieve. Never admit it.

That's not sabr.
That's a wound you keep reopening.

Real sabr is not silence.

Ayub AS cried out to Allah.
Yaqub AS wept so hard he lost his sight.
Musa AS argued with Allah.

They didn't suppress.
They brought everything to Allah.

That's the difference.

Sabr is honest. Suppression is performance.

A very sobering report escalation on the gulf and the Red Sea is accelerating and the prospects of peace are dimming. In short this is a catastrophe that is now metastasising into a full scale regional war.

Is Iran Becoming Another 'Forever War'? (w/ John Mearsheimer) | The Chri... via @YouTube

It’s pretty clear that there is only one option in this ongoing conflict on the middle east the U.S. has to back down. it’s like a shortened Vietnam war, the U.S cannot win and a second. MOU likely with far greater concessions to Iran is the only path out of it.

Whether Trump and the Congress are able to accept this is a moot point but if they continue on the current trajectory the result will almost certainly be much more damage to gulf states Kuwait / Bahrain/ Qatar / UAE and Saudi Arabia are all in the cross hairs now

That all being said a humiliating defeat is a far better outcome than a complete end to peace in the gulf and further escalation that will doubtless cause a massive collapse in trust globally a very deep recession globally and quite likely food and oil shortages all over the planet

I'm Italian. My hidden cities of Italy thread is still one of my most shared ever.

Since then the same message keeps arriving: do more.

So here is Part 2, all North. 7 hidden cities where Italy's quality of life peaks and the prices don't.

This is how we celebrate the italianmaxing week.

Three of Italy's top 10 ranked cities for quality of life are on this list. Most foreigners have never heard of them.

No crowds. No Milan prices. Insane quality of life.

Thread 🧵

First, what I evaluated for each city:

- Property price per sqm (and what €200-300K actually gets you) - yes I run a macro-search on this. Let's make the agents work.
- Nearest airport and travel time
- Population and year-round livability
- Who it's actually for: retirees, remote workers, families, or founders
- The honest downsides nobody mentions, including the one word the North never says out loud: air
- Taste and preferences, based on my own network

These aren't villages betting on charm. They're real cities where Northern Italians live their best lives, outside the radar.

If your way into Italy is the Investor Visa, I'm running a free live webinar on exactly that: the four routes, the real costs, the timeline.

Save your seat: italy.alepalombo.com

The North's open secret:

Everyone assumes Northern Italy means Milan money. Milan runs €5,000+ per square meter and climbing.

Meanwhile, an hour or two away, cities that beat Milan on nearly every quality-of-life metric trade at €1,500-2,600.

Faster trains than most of Europe. Hospitals that work. Airports 15 minutes from the centro.

7 cities I'd personally consider based on my own tastes, with the data to back it up.

Plus, I'll soon be in Tuscany and Umbria, but I plan to spend time around Milan too. I have many friends near Milan. It is not a coincidence.

I posted the 20 best foods on earth. Many people saw it. The reply section exploded.

The carnivores said I included too many vegetables. The plant-based crowd said I included too much meat. Someone told me spinach was poisoning people. Someone else told me I should be in jail for recommending beef liver.

I listened to all of it. Went back to the data. This is Version 2. 40 foods. Updated.

Spinach is gone. Fermented foods are in. Organ meats expanded. Every plant on this list is low-oxalate or cooked to reduce antinutrients.

No tribe won. The science won. 🧵

This pyramid has been around for years. Most health professionals know about it. Almost none of them will share it with their patients.

Why? Because food is the most controversial topic in medicine. More divisive than statins. More political than vaccines. A doctor who tells you to eat more red meat risks their reputation. A doctor who tells you to cut carbohydrates contradicts the dietary guidelines. A doctor who says seed oils are a problem contradicts every processed food company advertising during the Super Bowl.

So they say nothing. They hand you a pamphlet from 1992 and move on to the prescription pad.

The pyramid is simple. The base is protein, fat, and whole-fat dairy. Animal foods. The foundation.

The middle is low-carb vegetables and fruits. Real plants. Not processed plant products.

The top is the smallest portion. Starchy vegetables, nuts, seeds, berries. The foods with the most carbohydrate load get the least space.

And outside the pyramid entirely: bread, pasta, corn, sugar, rice, beans, high-sugar fruits. The foods the USDA told you to build your diet around for 50 years.

Thread 🧵 Part 1️⃣
Notice the date on @VusiSambo's post.
Then consider the video after that was 2019.
As I have asked in numerous previous posts:
Do people really believe these international institutions from the west and east are unaware of who they are dealing with?

Please also keep in mind, that while Trump is supposedly angry with Cyril, the World Bank is a arm of the western intel agencies.
Also remember that in 2020, Trump praised Patrice Motsepe (Cyril's brother in law) and Motsepe responded by saying: "Africa loves Trump".

@VusiSambo Thread 🧵 Part 2️⃣
Below (clip 1️⃣) is the video of Motsepe and Trump.
The next 2 clips (clip 2️⃣+3️⃣) are of Cyril meeting with Klaus Schwab (in 2023 and 2025, respectively).
The last clip is of a trailer from a 'documentary' type movie called Plandemic 3.

https://twitter.com/pidgeonchest/status/2079878608470872342

Thread 🧵 Part 3️⃣ (end)
This idea of 'creating money out of thin air' is not a new one. If you open the post below, you can see some of how far back it goes.

We are taught that banks take deposits.
We are taught that banks receive revenue from 'loaning out' deposits and charging 'interest' on it.
Both are false.

There are a very small group of people who know this and have access to thise channels.
As is explained below, these "connected" entities/oligarchs can get loans at negative interest rates.
This means that the banks (or private credit consortium) will literally pay them to take a loan.

I will leave it here for now, but if people rwally want to know why counteies around the world are suffering to the degree they are, then there is one old saying that is more true now than ever before:
"Follow the money".

This is incredibly tough for any layman like myself who only woke up to this 3 years ago, with all the networks of trusts, NGOs, NPOs, 'public-private partnerships, tax havens and offshore bank accounts.. Much like the structures people such as Jeffrey Epstein operated in.

All corruption starts with the financial system.
Whatever alternatuve you may seek out, just remember that this system has been gemerations in the making.
Whatever you think you're doing to 'thwart' the system, has probably already been thought about at length.

https://x.com/pidgeonchest/status/2079557890369626122

Saturn is becoming stationary tomorrow and will turn retrograde on 27th July.

Use this period wisely - It can become a time of deep growth, maturity, and lasting authority.

What you can do exactly to utilise this time period properly - 1/N 🧵

This is a time to pause, gather yourself, look back, analyze your journey, and then move forward with greater effort and clarity.

So , Saturn is becoming stationary and then turning retrograde, and most people see this merely as an astronomical event.

But it is the most significant shift in time cause saturn is completing the cycle of 30 years. & One of the biggest mistakes in modern astrology is that people focus only on where a planet is placed while ignoring how it is moving.

The speed of a planet is just as important as its position because movement itself carries meaning. A fast-moving planet generally indicates momentum, while a stationary planet asks us to slow down and pay closer attention to the matters it represents.

Let me explain it with a simple practical example. Whenever a driver approaches a sharp turn on a highway, the first thing he does is reduce his speed. He does not stop because the journey has ended. He slows down because changing direction at high speed increases the possibility of making a mistake. Saturn becoming stationary represents a similar principle. Before changing its apparent direction, it appears almost motionless from our perspective on Earth. Symbolically, this is a reminder that before life moves into its next phase, we should pause and examine whether we are moving in the right direction ( for stationary saturn)

This is precisely why many people, consciously or unconsciously, begin thinking about unfinished responsibilities, delayed decisions, pending work, financial planning, career goals, old commitments, and long-ignored duties during such periods.

There is nothing magical about this. Saturn simply shifts our attention toward the areas that require correction before further progress becomes possible. We often believe that every delay is an obstacle, whereas Saturn repeatedly teaches that some delays exist only to prevent bigger mistakes. Sometimes a few days of honest reflection can save years of unnecessary struggle. Saturn has never rewarded speed alone; it rewards correction, maturity, and patience.

And Retrograde motion is perhaps one of the most misunderstood concepts in astrology. Many people immediately assume that a retrograde planet becomes weak or starts producing only negative results.

Practical observation does not support such a conclusion. The planet is not actually travelling backward in space. Its apparent motion changes because of the relative positions of Earth and that planet. Astrology has always been based upon the perspective of Earth because human experience unfolds from here. So, retrogression should not be understood as moving backward but rather as looking backward. This small difference completely changes the way we interpret retrograde planets.

Imagine someone who has worked continuously for three or four years but still finds that career growth is not happening. The immediate reaction is often to blame luck, destiny, or even astrology itself. Saturn asks an entirely different set of questions. Have you truly developed the skills required for the next level? Have you completed every responsibility with consistency? Have you maintained discipline even when nobody was watching? Have you compromised your integrity for temporary success? These questions represent the real nature of retrograde Saturn. It behaves less like a punishment and more like an internal correction.

1/ Zohran Mamdani may be the cleverest critic of Israel in modern American politics.

Not the loudest - the cleverest. And that's exactly what makes him dangerous.

His "war criminal" video is a masterclass. In what you leave out. 🧵

https://x.com/NYCMayor/status/2079718073058091261?s=20

2/ Start with the video itself. Flags, suit, presidential lighting, two full minutes. Then, ninety seconds in, the admission: "we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant." He built a set to announce he can do nothing but that was the point.

3/ He's smart about it. He doesn't deny Oct 7; he avoids. He builds his case from things that are true, or true enough to pass a fact-check, and does the real work in what he cuts. A swastika would drive away the reasonable people Mamdani wants to reach, but he reassures them.

Introducing Tau 𝛕 0.3.0 🥳

Tau is an educational project — and a port of Pi, but in Python. And it recently got much more comfortable to use.

Here is a video tour of its main features 🧵

First: bring your own provider.

/login connects tau with OAuth or an API key

Too many models to scroll through?

Star your favorites with /scoped-models, then Ctrl+P cycles between them mid-session. Switching models like switching buffers.